August 2017 – Lammas, Love Island & Concrete

Did you know that last month it was reported that over 2,000,000 people regularly tuned in to watch Love Island, and in one episode four couples were viewed having sex beneath the sheets. So was it Compulsive Viewing or Tawdry Pornography? It doesn’t matter what you decide to call it for in my mind it just shows how terribly, terribly sad things have become.

Lammas is the festival of First Fruits, a day of rejoicing over the fecundity of Mother Earth, a day of happiness and upholding the miracle of new life, a day of giving thanks for procreation and continuing survival of life. And part of that rejoicing, of course, is acknowledging the central act of sexual union that makes new life possible.

I am not a prude – far from it – but I cannot separate the sex act from the greater context of a deepening relationship with another special person. On its own it becomes debased, almost animalistic, it actually cheapens life’s meaning of respect for other people, and I cannot help but wonder what harm that does to the soul.

Sex is wonderful and sacred. It has been seen in the past in some religions as a form of worship – NOT in the C of E however!! It is an expression of love and intimacy. It is something very, very special and not to be taken lightly.

That is why I find the programme ‘Love Island’ so very sad for it indicates how low the moral and spiritual values of our society have become. And when the standards continue to fall it usually indicates (from past comparisons) that society is falling apart. Despite the King Canute act of trying to stop the inevitable tide just why doesn’t the Church say something? Or has it given up?

Concrete

My thanks goes to two groups of people. One group at Maker raised the money to make it possible for the second group of people to physically lay concrete to finish the driveway – or would have done if it hadn’t been the wrong kind of water! Yes, that is right. The wrong kind of water.

The pic on the left is the area to fill whilst that on the right is the very last bit. We had almost finished when, despite still having enough concrete mix, the driver announced he had run out of water. There was a stream right beside us and we had buckets, or a hose was available at a neighbours, but no it had to come from a large bored pipe and pumped in.

Oh well, I guess we can always lay that some other day the old fashioned way by hand with a mixer.